Breakdown of Açlık, bir hastalık kadar tehlikeli olurdu.
bir
a / an
olmak
to be
kadar
as ... as; until, up to
tehlikeli
dangerous
hastalık
illness, disease
açlık
hunger / famine
Questions & Answers about Açlık, bir hastalık kadar tehlikeli olurdu.
How does olurdu translate to "would be"?
olurdu is built by combining the verb root ol- (to be/become) with the aorist suffix -ur and the past tense suffix -du. When the aorist and past tense are combined into the -(A/I)rdI structure, they form a conditional main clause that translates to "would [verb]" in English.
How does the phrase bir hastalık kadar tehlikeli translate to "as dangerous as a disease"?
To say "as [adjective] as [noun]" in Turkish, you use the postposition kadar (as/amount). The structure is strictly "[noun] kadar [adjective]". Here, bir hastalık (a disease) is followed by kadar, and finally the adjective tehlikeli (dangerous).
Both açlık and hastalık end in -lık. What is the function of this suffix here?
The -lIk suffix (which follows 4-way vowel harmony) frequently turns adjectives into abstract nouns. Aç means "hungry", so açlık is the state of being hungry: "hunger". Similarly, hasta means "sick", and hastalık becomes "sickness" or "disease".
Why is there a comma immediately after Açlık?
In Turkish, a comma is frequently placed right after the subject of a sentence to cleanly separate it from the remaining words. This helps instantly show the reader that Açlık (hunger) is the subject, preventing it from blending confusingly into the next noun phrase.
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